About Benny Brussell

A native of San Francisco, Benny "Ben" Brussell has been an active professional music producer, composer, band leader, DJ, vocalist, violinist, mandolinist, trumpeter, and session and concert mandolinist. and teacher for over three decades; based in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles, California. Ben is the founder of the world music ensemble KLEZMANIA! and the Luna Nova Quartet.

The Luna Nova Quartet, was a mandolin-based chamber music ensemble (mandolin, violin, viola, cello), that toured, recorded, and concertized for a 10 year period, and winner of the prestigious Zellerbach Grant Award for creating, writing all the original music and arrangements, performing, and producing a show reflecting on Americana themes. YouTube videos of this show can be seen here: Luna Nova Quartet Americana Show.

Ben also premiered during the 2007 LNQ tour to Oregon, his original composition, "The Dragonfly," a classical work for string quartet in 4 movements. LNQ was also made "Affiliate Status" with the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music and was sponsored by Chamber Music America to perform at their showcase at the 2007 WAA (Western Arts Alliance) Conference. If you are interested about learning more about Ben's creativity and original music, visit Ben Brussell Music.

Ben’s musical background is in classical music where he has studied trumpet, violin, viola, piano, classical voice, composition, and mandolin. He studied violin and viola with the San Francisco Symphony’s Leonid Gesin and Daniel Kobialka and holds a Bachelor’s degree in viola performance and musicology from San Francisco State University. Ben is a graduate of the Master’s Level program in Screen Scoring at the University of Southern California. There, he studied with film composition legends Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, David Raksin, Christopher Young, and Buddy Baker. He studied film orchestration and arranging with Will Schaefer, Joe Harnell, and conducting with Larry Blank. Ben had the honor of being the only classical mandolinist to be invited and perform during the San Francisco Symphony's chamber music festival, the "Serenade for Mandolin and Viola," by Giovanni Hoffman, with his mentor and friend, Leonid Gesin in Davis Symphony Hall.

Ben has had a long, mentoring partnership and friendship with Ursula Mamlok, of the Manhattan School of Music and studied classical mandolin with oud master John Bilezikjian in Los Angeles. More recently Ben also enjoys his musical friendships and coaching sessions on violin with Fred Lifsitz, a student himself of the famed Joseph Gingold, and violinist with the Alexander String Quartet and professor at SFSU; and conducting with Dr. Martin Seggelke.

Ben has also written original orchestrastrations for a variety of independent films and live concert formats. Most notably, he was commissioned to create an original orchestration for concert violinist, Frenec Illenyi, in a premiere performance with the Houston Symphony Orchestra of Ben's "Romanian Medley for Solo Violin and 100 Piece Orchestra." Also, Ben composed, conducted, and premiered his "Americana Hymns Medley," with 60 piece San Francisco State University Wind Ensemble.

KLEZMANIA!, is Ben's world-class jazz klezmer band, has been performing for 30 plus years all over the West Coast, performing for hundreds of clients, organizations, congregations, schools for private and corporate events, concerts, showcases, art openings, radio and television, and tours. The band has 3 albums out and can be found on Apple Music. The band is still quite active in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area. Videos of the band can be seen here: KLEZMANIA! YouTube Videos

He has served as musical director at Congregation Kol Shofar in Tiburon, California and musical director at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco. Ben has been acting cantor from 2008 to 2017 at Congregation Kol Hadash in Albany in the East Bay. Ben served as musical director, mandolinist, and vocalist with his house band for Cantor Roslyn Barak at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco for several years, until Roz's retirement.

His focus as an instrumentalist has been to create a unique and powerful voice for the classical and ethnic mandolin and violin. Ben has also performed and toured with Modern Mandolin Quartet. Ben has played violin with the Berkeley Symphony, Winifred Baker Chorale Orchestra, Starlight Strings, and the Lamplighters Pit Orchestra. On mandolin he has played with the Berkeley Symphony, Mendocino Summer Music Festival & Bakersfield Symphony orchestras.

As a musician and producer, Ben seeks to surround himself with the finest of musicians, whose talent encompasses both a passionate and creative spirit. These synergistic elements are brought forth to engage the listener and delight the soul for the best in live musical performance. Ben has always used the absolute best musicians for his various ensembles, projects, concerts, and recordings. Ben has been a 30 plus year member of The American Federation of Musicians. through both Local 6 in San Francisco, and Local 47 in Los Angeles.

Ben’s love for the mandolin and violin has a deep family connection along with a prolific musical heritage. His grandfather, Max Gralnick, performed on violin, viola and was “the call” for mandolin in Hollywood film sessions from the late 1920s through the early 1980s. His grandfather’s mandolin performance is featured in major Hollywood film classics such as “The Godfather I” and “The Godfather Part II” (Nina Rota), “Zorba the Greek" (Mikis Theodorakis), "Spartacus" (Alex North), “Dr. Zhivago” (Maurice Jarre), "The Ten Commandments" (Elmer Bernstein), "Barefoot In The Park" (Neal Hefti), "Flight of The Phoenix" (Frank DeVol), "Cleopatra" (Alex North), "Hello Dolly" (Jerry Herman), "Jumbo" (Rodgers & Hart), "Patton" (Jerry Goldsmith), "Shane" (Victor Young), "Around the World in 80 Days" (Victor Young), to name just a few. He also played with Dean Martin with his signature mandolin solo in the recording of “That’s Amore.”

Ben has personally worked in Hollywood on mandolin with film composer Angelo Badalamenti on his score “The Last Don,” featured on all the solo mandolin parts. Also, Ben worked with David Robbins on his score for Dennis Quaid’s debut directorial feature film, "Everything That Rises.”